Updated 5:06 am, Sunday, January 20, 2013

Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco, above, founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco, above, founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, above, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, above, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco, above, founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco, above, founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which employs local knitters, left, uses natural dyes and gets its wool from sheep used in the fire abatement program.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Sea Ranch Woolworks' emphasis on local wool, materials, processing and labor for its handcrafted knitwear has earned the company Fibershed certification.

Sea Ranch Woolworks' emphasis on local wool, materials, processing and labor for its handcrafted knitwear has earned the company Fibershed certification.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Harmeet Dhillon has begun experimenting with alpaca wool, above.

Harmeet Dhillon has begun experimenting with alpaca wool, above.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Harmeet Dhillon carries raw wool ready to be spun.

Harmeet Dhillon carries raw wool ready to be spun.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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Her husband, Sarvjit Randhawa, wears a scarf and sweater she knitted.

Her husband, Sarvjit Randhawa, wears a scarf and sweater she knitted.

Photo: Erik Castro, Special To The Chronicle

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GOP leader produces all-local knitwear

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Many people turn to knitting as a means of stress reduction, and Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco was no exception when she took up the hobby during college in 1986. Dhillon, however, has taken her interest in textiles a step or two further than most recreational knitters. In 2012, she founded Sea Ranch Woolworks, which takes wool from the sheep used for fire abatement in the Sonoma community of the Sea Ranch, processes it locally, and has craftswomen from the community turn it into durable and beautiful hand-knit scarves.

The internal drive that propelled Dhillon, 44, from hobbyist knitter to founder of a growing textile business is apparent in the trajectory of her full-time career. She was born in rural India and is now as an award-winning trial attorney at the helm of her own firm, chairwoman of the Republican Party of San Francisco and a candidate for vice chair of the California Republican Party. But Dhillon credits her husband, Sarvjit Randhawa, for getting her started on the textile track.

"We bought a second home in the Sea Ranch in 2010, and for the first time I had room for all the yarn I'd put into storage when I sold my last house in 2003," Dhillon says of the home where she and her husband spend weekends. She knit Randhawa a sweater for Christmas 2010, then a few more. Ready to start sweater No. 5, Dhillon recalls, "My husband said, 'I want a sweater made from the sheep here at Sea Ranch.' "

Dhillon got in touch with Leland Falk, the shepherd in charge of the woolly brigade at the coastal community, to persuade him to sell her some of the white and brown fleeces from 300-plus ruminants. He was impressed by Dhillon's vision.

"When people come to me and want to purchase wool, I sort of stand back and see what they're thinking," Falk says. Dhillon "seemed like she had a lot of energy and was really going to take her project somewhere." He agreed to sell her some of the wool, which would otherwise be used as winter ground cover for Posh Squash, the community garden at the Sea Ranch, or sold to the market via a cooperative.

"I got a 300-pound bale delivered to my house in April 2012," Dhillon recalls, "full of ticks and dirt and grease." She then sent a sample to the Yolo Wool Mill in Woodland (Yolo County) to be cleaned, carded and spun, yielding 10 pounds of processed yarn. A local weaver in Gualala inspected it for Dhillon and pronounced it viable for knitting, and Dhillon was on her way.

Last July, she arranged with Falk to take the entire inventory of fleece after they were sheared on site at the Sea Ranch, almost a thousand pounds, and sent it on to the mill.

"It was the biggest order they'd ever had and took almost five months to process," she says. Most Sea Ranch sheep have resilient coats that won't get hung up on the vines and brush they graze. As Falk points out, "I look at hardiness as the main factor for choosing sheep. I don't really look for breeds with high-quality wool."

Dhillon began experimenting with softer alpaca fiber blends and organic dyes, locally made where possible, then hired four knitters from the Mendocino area to turn her original knitting designs into finished products.

The emphasis on local materials, processing and labor - all within 150 miles of West Marin - means that Sea Ranch Woolworks has attained Fibershed certification, a designation meant to support the creation of local textile cultures that enhance ecological balance, and strengthen local economies and communities.

Rebecca Burgess - the author, educator and textile artist who founded the Fibershed movement in Northern California - says Dhillon's commitment is meaningful. "She's creating high standards for other people to follow, because she's willing to invest."

The image of a stalwart of the Republican Party spearheading a craft-based, organic, sustainable business might seem an odd juxtaposition to some, but Dhillon relishes the chance to challenge perceptions. "Ten years ago I would have called this touchy-feely hippie nonsense. But it's a conservative value to not rely on foreign labor and materials." Dhillon says the first person to buy anything from her online shop was a die-hard Republican who thanked her for helping dispel the myth that Republicans are opposed to helping the environment.

Sea Ranch Woolworks' scarves, shawls and cowls, ranging in price from $45 to $95, are available online, as well as in a few boutiques in Gualala. Skeins of wool and scarf kits are also available for purchase. In the coming year, Dhillon hopes to find San Francisco retailers to carry her company's goods and perhaps to support the establishment of an urban natural dyework that would allow all the dyes in her product to be Fibershed compliant.

"This company is about investing in the local economy over the long term," Dhillon says. "We have fine craftsmanship in America; it just costs more."